Mark Kirk plans ad blitz

Republican Mark Kirk has reserved almost $5.2 million worth of advertisements for the final weeks of the competitive Illinois Senate race, POLITICO has learned.

The ad blitz comes as most public polls show the race between Kirk and Democratic nominee Alexi Giannoulias in a dead heat. But Kirk has held a fundraising edge over Giannoulias throughout what has become one of the tightest — and most negative — races of the election cycle.

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The Illinois airwaves are already filled with spots from the candidates, their political parties and outside groups spending heavily to influence the race. But as of Friday, Kirk’s campaign is prepared to empty its arsenal and spend about $1 million each week in an effort to win the Senate seat previously held by President Barack Obama.

Kirk’s campaign has purchased the ad time with funds from its own coffers, and from money from the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which pledged earlier this year that it would give the campaign $3.4 million in coordinated funds for the race.

The Republican reported $3.9 million in the bank at the end of June, the last fundraising deadline. At the same time, Giannoulias reported having about a quarter of those funds on hand.

When asked for comment, Giannoulias spokesman Scott Burnham quipped, “In case we needed more proof that Kirk couldn't have been named Intelligence Officer of the Year — he just released his full campaign spending plan for the next five weeks.”

A Public Policy Polling survey from Sept. 23-26 showed Kirk in the lead with 40 percent, with Giannoulias at 36 percent. A CNN/Time poll from Sept. 24-28 showed Giannoulias with a 1-point lead, drawing 43 percent to 42 percent over Kirk.

But Kirk campaign’s own polling shows him ahead: An internal polling memo from the Kirk campaign and obtained by POLITICO shows him holding a 9-point lead. Kirk had 42 percent and Giannoulias had 33 percent, per a Kirk-sponsored Fulcrum Campaign Strategies poll taken Sept. 26-29 of 900 likely voters in Illinois. About 22 percent of survey respondents were undecided and the Green Party nominee, LeAlan Jones, received 2 percent in the poll.

“We have consistently held this type of margin against Giannoulias,” said Kirk pollster Greg Strimple. “The race hasn’t changed since summer.”

Kirk’s campaign also polled the hotly contested governor’s race, and those results similarly showed the Republican candidate running ahead. Republican gubernatorial nominee Bill Brady drew 39 percent, Gov. Pat Quinn received 27 percent, and 26.3 percent of voters were undecided. Most public polls show Brady with a single-digit lead over Quinn.